Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies
The Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies, based in Brookline, MA was formed in January 1980 by Randall Forsberg, a former Harvard Ph.D. candidate and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute peace researcher.[1]
About
The Institute enjoyed tax-exempt status, and had a staff of eight full-time and three part-time employees. Forsberg, IDDS executive director, in 1980 circulated a draft call for a Nuclear Freeze." It received minimal support from the major disarmament groups until March 1981, following the Brezhnev speech to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 26th Congress.
In cooperation with the Center for Defense Information leaders Gene LaRocque and John Kenneth Galbraith, Forsberg was actively lobbying among delegates to the 1980 Democratic National Convention for disarmament, and took the position that "for the U.S. to regain nuclear superiority, rather than stopping the arms race, will produce unprecedented danger of first strike by both sides in time of crisis; and is the single greatest danger currently facing the world."
IDDS officers include Patrick Hughes, secretary, and George Sommaripa, treasurer. The IDDS Board of Directors reflects a spectrum from the academic and activist branches of the anti-defense lobby including several individuals and organizations active with the World Peace Council. Members of the board include Betty Lall, chairperson, UN Committee on Disarmament.[1]